ScotSports.com Blog

The Scots (20-2, 5-0) await results from this weekend's matches to see who they will face in the South Super Regionals in Houston on May 2. HP clinched a bye through the first round of what is now a 12-team state playoff system used by the THSLL.

One of the opponents in HP's quadrant of the state bracket is already known. Houston Episcopal (18-9) placed second in the South District (Houston area), and will play the fourth-place team from the Central (Austin and San Antonio) District in the first round on May 1. The South Super Regional is hosted by Houston Christian High School.

The four teams receiving first-round byes are South District champion The Woodlands (13-3), Central District champion Austin High (11-2), and North District champion HP and runner-up St. Mark's (11-3). The Scots beat The Woodlands and Austin in the Jesuit Tournament at the start of the season, and split two games with St. Mark's.

The four quarterfinal winners will be at Highlander Stadium on May 8-9 for the state championships. 

The NFL released its 2010 schedule today, and as mentioned here way back on Jan. 26, ex-HP quarterback Matthew Stafford and his Detroit Lions will play in Dallas on Nov. 21, the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving. Stafford was last year's No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, and finished his rookie season off the field with a injured shoulder for the 2-14 Lions. The Dallas-Detroit game marks the first time that Stafford has returned to play in his home state since he left HP in 2006 to play at the University of Georgia.

It's the first time in four years that a former HP player has returned to Dallas to face his hometown team. San Diego Padres pitcher Chris Young, who led HP to the state title as a senior in 1998, earned the decision in a 3-2 win at the Rangers on June 21, 2006. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was active when LA played in Arlington last summer, but his spot in the starting rotation didn't come up during the three-game series.

The Cowboys-Lions game is the start to a great two weeks of football locally. Following Detroit, Dallas hosts the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints four days later on Thanksgiving, and then travels to the Super Bowl-losing Indianapolis Colts a week later. Dallas faces all six NFC playoff teams again in 2010, and of the seven playoff teams it faces, five of those games are on the road.

 The Texas High School Baseball Coaches released their new state polls today, and Region II-4A doesn't factor in much in the state poll other than having its top-ranked team in Rockwall-Heath (29-0, 11-0). Only No. 7 Mesquite Poteet (20-2) and No. 10 McKinney (19-4) are members of HP's region. 

 There's still plenty of regular-season baseball ahead. But if the current standings held through the final three games of the season, HP would be in the same Region II-4A quadrant as McKinney, but the Scots wouldn't face them until the three round if both teams advanced. HP is also in the same half of the bracket as Poteet, but wouldn't face their former district foes until the regional final. Rockwall-Heath would be on the opposite side of the playoff bracket.

Here's this week's coaches poll, with their published overall records:

THSBCA Class 4A State Poll, April 15
1. Rockwall-Heath (29-0)
2. Corpus Christi Moody (23-3)
3. Corpus Christi Calallen (22-3)
4. Pflugerville Hendrickson (22-2)
5. Canyon Randall (22-3)
6. Brenham (21-4)
7. Mesquite Poteet (20-2)
8. Wichita Falls Rider (22-4)
9. Medina Valley (20-2)
10. McKinney (19-4)

The Texas High School Lacrosse League introduced a new playoff structure for the 2010 season that includes 12 teams in the state playoffs. Kudos to the THSLL administration for creating an exciting state-wide bracket within a logical playoff system based on seeding. It's a more inclusive system than the former system that took three district winners and a wild-card into a final four-style bracket.

HP will host the Final Four at Highlander Stadium on May 8-9, which under the new system places the newly-created Super Regionals in Houston and Austin on May 1-2. The four Super Regional winners will come to Dallas for the Final Four. In 2011, when the Final Four returns to Houston, Dallas and Austin will host the Super Regionals. 

Here is the state bracket broken down by site and the qualifying teams.The four winners from the Sunday, May 2 matches qualify for the Final Four at HP.

Central Super Regional
in Austin, site to be determined
Saturday, May 1 matches:
South District 4th place vs. Central District 2nd place
North District 3rd place vs. Central District 3rd place

Sunday, May 2 matches:
North District 2nd place vs. South-4/Central-2 winner
South District 1st place vs. North-3/Central-3 winner

South Super Regional
in Houston, site to be determine
Saturday, May 1 matches:
South District 2nd place vs. Central District 4th place
North District 4th place vs. South District 3rd place

Sunday, May 2 matches:
North District 1st place vs. South-2/Central-4 winner
Central District 1st place vs. North-4/South-3 winner

It's a rough start to the season for Chris Young. 

The ex-HP star was placed on the disabled list following Sunday's loss in Colorado due to inflammation in his surgically-repaired right shoulder. He pressed it too much during his first start last week. It's the fourth season in a row that the 6-foot-10 right-hander has been placed on the DL.

“It has improved daily since the day of the diagnosis” Young said in an interview with the San Diego News Network. “I have done light tossing, and the tightness has lessened. This is more precautionary than anything else.”

San Diego manager Bud Black indicated there was no urgency to keep Young active on the roster for now.